US approves over $500M arms sale to Israel ahead of Netanyahu visit
The State Department has greenlit $500 million worth of JDAM guidance kits for Israeli bombs, as at least 80 people were reportedly killed by Israeli military gunfire and airstrikes across the Gaza Strip on Monday.
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration announced on Monday that it had notified Congress of plans to sell $510 million worth of Joint Direct Attack Munition guidance kits for the Israeli Air Force’s air-to-ground bombs.
The State Department and the Pentagon signed off on the sale of more than 7,000 JDAM guidance kits designed to be affixed to the Israeli Air Force’s unguided BLU-109 2,000-pound bombs and Mk-82 500-pound bombs.
Why it matters: The planned sale comes as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet with US President Donald Trump at the White House next Monday, an administration official confirmed to Al-Monitor.
Trump has been signaling interest over the past week in achieving another hostage release deal in Gaza. On Sunday, the president posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, urging Netanyahu to “make the deal in Gaza” in order to secure the return of the remaining hostages.
